The last few years’ exorbitant medico-legal claims against the Department of Health serve as a clear symptom of the decay of public healthcare, and it is time for heads to start rolling in the Department to ensure accountability.
During a joint meeting of the Portfolio Committee on Health and the Standing Committees on Public Accounts and Appropriations yesterday, the FF Plus declared outright that the exorbitant legal claims should no longer be tolerated.
The meeting followed a recent announcement by the Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, that the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) will investigate allegations of legal firms lodging false, invalid and fraudulent legal claims against the Department.
The FF Plus endorses such an investigation, but also realises that there are two sides to every coin. There certainly are irregularities, but not all claims are necessarily false, invalid and fraudulent.
A large number of claims amounting to billions against the state’s healthcare institutions stem from patients not receiving proper medical care. In 2022, 15 000 claims to the value of R125 billion were lodged against the Department – R855 million of this was paid out.
In 2022 after conducting its own comprehensive investigation into the terrible state of public healthcare in the country, the FF Plus insisted that President Cyril Ramaphosa appoint a commission of inquiry to probe the state of affairs in public hospitals.
The party issued a shocking report detailing human rights violations in state and provincial hospitals in November 2023, and also lodged a formal complaint with the Human Rights Commission (HRC), which is currently still under investigation.
The report indicates that patients are suffering severely due to the poor conditions and treatment in these institutions. This flip side of the coin should also be recognised and investigated.
The South African Medical Malpractice Lawyers Association should be granted the opportunity to weigh in on the matter, particularly because it has already indicated that it is quite willing to do so.
In addition, the FF Plus insists that a comprehensive report on medico-legal claims should be tabled to the Portfolio Committee on Health. The Committee requested such a report in 2022, but is yet to receive it.
Moreover, if the Auditor-General (AG) had not brought the enormous claims to the Committee’s attention in 2022, no-one would have paid any attention to it.
The time has come to take swift, firm action and heads will have to roll in the process.
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